hey you people! This is the last improved old chapter. From now on there will be new chapters.

setting: episode 11 "I Ain't A Judas"

Damnation

Chapter 45 - Plan

As soon as they got back inside the cell block it became pretty obvious that Rick didn't really want to talk to Connor. Because their leader was nowhere in sight.
The Irishman stopped walking and looked at his friend who had taken a seat next to his brother. Connor searched the hall for the former policeman but when he couldn't see him anywhere he got even more confused.

"So, where's he then?" he asked and Daryl shrugged.

"Nowhere. Just wanted to get your ass away from her."

Connor frowned even more.

"What?"

"Rick wants yah to keep your trap shut in front of her. She's not with us anymore. Ain't no reason to tell her nothing."

The Irishman snorted and folded his arms.

"Seriously? I was just trying ta get her to get me back in there. Kill the Governor, do something about this whole war thing. Unlike the rest of ye people who just seem ta be sitting on their asses in here and do absolutely nothing about it" he retorted and looked at the Dixon brothers and Carol and Beth, who were busy cooking in the corner.

Merle chuckled.

"Forget it, Blondie. You'd be eating bullets way before you even get close to Woodbury."

"Oh you just watch me" Connor answered and gave the older Dixon an angry glare, which made the latter grin.

"Watch you die? Counting on it, Paddy."

Although the sheer presence of Merle Dixon made his blood boil Connor still decided to just ignore Daryl's brother, as if he didn't exist.
He looked at the younger Dixon instead, who was trying to sharpen his knife.

"I wanna keep going with te map of the prison. Make out some more emergency exits in the west wing. I could use some help with that, you in?" he asked his friend who looked at him. Daryl was just about to answer him, but once again Merle interrupted their talk and Connor had to fight the urge to punch him really hard.

"Seriously, where did you get this one, Darylena? The fag factory? Now she wants to draw pictures with you, what the hell?"

Connor gave the older Dixon yet another death glare but decided to not say anything or do anything about that just yet. Not with Daryl around.
He was waiting for an answer and it was obvious that his friend was just as annoyed by his brother.

"Sure. In a minute" the hunter said and nodded.

"What? Hey, you ain't leaving, you just got your worthless ass back here with me" Merle protested.

Connor nodded back at Daryl and then looked at the older Dixon, who seemed to be seriously pissed because of his brother's answer. It amused the heck out of the Irishman, because he was proud of Daryl and how much he had grown, and also because it was obvious that he was his favorite. He had almost expected some sort of struggle or bitchy attitude from his friend now that Merle was around, but Daryl seriously did not seem to care any longer. Connor still hated his friend's brother more than anything after the attack yesterday and the thing with the picture today, so he just needed to do one more thing to piss the redneck off even more. He gave the man an evil smirk and then put a hand on Daryl's shoulder.

"Alright, brother. Maybe after that we can work on yer tat. Anyway, 'm gonna go ahead. See ye in a minute, honeybunch" he said and grabbed Daryl by the back of his head to yank it back.

He then placed his bandaged hand on his friend's mouth and kissed the back of his hand. He got the exact reaction he had aimed for. Daryl started struggling and fighting and protesting, and as soon as he let go of his mouth the younger Dixon started yelling at him, just like his brother. Except that Merle was even more furious, which was exactly what he had wanted to achieve.

He remembered the threat.

He's my baby brother. Don't think I didn't see what you scratched on his back. If I ever see yah near him again, if you ever touch him or call him brother or if yah ever try to turn him into such a pansy-assed, bible-banging potato-stuffed pussy like your dead brother, then I will cut you open and make sure you die real slow.

And this was his way of telling Merle a big old "fuck you". The older Dixon had already managed to get off his chair and was yelling all sorts of insults and death threats at Connor for doing something so unmanly to his baby brother, and just when he was about to attack him Rick and Glenn decided to enter, making a fight between the Irishman and redneck impossible. The two men looked at the other three for a moment, then Rick's eyes lingered on Connor.

"We could use your help" he stated and the Irishman sat down on the table.

He couldn't fight the pleased smile that broke through because once again he had managed to piss both Dixon brothers off.

"Aye, sure. With what?"

Rick put his hands on his hips and sighed.

"We're sending Andrea on her way back to Woodbury. She needs a car. From the parking lot."

Connor nodded and wanted to answer, but this time it was Daryl who spoke up.

"Why don't you let her get it herself?"

The Irishman turned his head to look at his friend, still grinning to himself.

"There's lots of walkers wandering around there. I was gonna go first, but..we think you could handle it way faster than us.." Glenn said to the blonde who turned his head and nodded.

"Aye. Yer right" Connor answered and looked at Daryl again, who was pressing his lips together and glared at both him and Rick.

It was obvious that he didn't like the idea at all, but every once in a while he would also look at his brother. The hunter might have changed, but it was still obvious that he was under his sibling's spell. It looked like he was torn, like he wanted to tell them his opinion on that but at the same time didn't want to let Merle know and hear it. Connor got up from the table and sorted his clothes.

"Alright, but I gotta talk ta you first, Rick."

"Yeah, me, too. Actually" Daryl grunted and got up as well.

They were heading for the door that led to the administration offices to get some car keys and a better view on the parking lot, which was located behind a thick steel door that separated their prison yard from the rest of the prison complex. Daryl still didn't like the idea at all, and he would no longer keep it in, now that Merle was nowhere in sight.

"Why's he gotta go get it, let me'n Merle handle it then. His chance t'prove himself."

Connor rolled his eyes and looked at his friend.

"Oh don't get started on this shit again. I'm the man fer that and everyone knows that."

"We sending injured to do our dirty work now? Why don't we just give her one of our cars?" Daryl said to Rick and ignored his friend completely.

"Because we need them, Daryl. "

"Hey, who are ye calling injured? 'm fine" Connor muttered and Daryl stopped walking.

"How about this?" he countered and buried his index finger in his friend's injured shoulder, which made the Irishman wince.

"Or this?" The hunter then grabbed Connor's left hand and squeezed hard.

"Ow! Are ye fucking mental?" the older of the two friends protested and massaged his shoulder and then hand with an angry look on his face.

"No, but it looks like you are. I'm going in, get your stupid car" the hunter growled and headed for the door.

"Daryl! Fer fuck's sakes, wait!" the Irishman yelled after him but Daryl ignored him and entered the building without the other two.

"Jesus..." Connor muttered and then looked at Rick.

"'m gonna go after him. Don't worry about yer car."

The policeman nodded and started walking, but Connor asked him to stop.

"I gotta talk ta you fer a sec. About the Governor and Woodbury."

Rick put his hands on his hips again and sighed. It was obvious that he didn't really like talking about it, but the Irishman still needed to get it off his chest.

"I'm trying ta talk Andrea into taking me with'er."

Their leader frowned.

"What?"

Connor nodded.

"Aye. Just like ye suggested. Just like I suggested this morning. Before the thing with Andrea. Find a way in and then kill him. I'm gonna do it.
I think we should talk about it and seriously consider.."

Rick just shook his head.

"No."

The Irishman frowned.

"Why not? Ye just asked her ta get us in there so we could kill him. And we both know that I got a little history there."

"I know, but that's not the way we handle things, Connor. We don't just go in and start shooting at people. It won't work. Let me think it through first. Let's not jump the gun on it. We're gonna make this work by working together."

"You know we don't stand a chance against Woodbury like that. They outnumber us big time. And it's not gonna do us any good if we wait any longer and risk any more lives by going in there together. I'm..look, I'm just trying ta be the voice of reason here, Rick. Just hear me out and listen ta me. Trust me, I wouldn't screw it up. I'm good at this."

The policeman nodded.

"I know. I know. But the answer is no. Besides, Daryl is right. Look at you. You hardly made it back here last time."

The Irishman tried to stay calm although it was getting on his nerves how people kept mention the fact that he had been captured and bit in Woodbury.

"Aye. And they won't kill me because they know about me. They'd be stupid ta kill their only hope fer a cure."

Rick snorted.

"You think so? Just an hour ago you saw right through him. You and I both know what kind of person we're talking about here. He won't hesitate.
Even with you in the line of fire. I think you're better off in here. We need you in here, in fact."

Connor pressed his lips together and took a deep breath. He still wouldn't let go, although he agreed with Rick there.
He knew that the Governor would probably kill him as soon as he saw him, but the Irishman literally didn't care.
He just knew that he was going to take that dirty bastard down with him, even if this meant that they both would not make it out of there alive.
This was the kind of death he had always pictured after all. Going down in a hail of bullets, taking the most devilish and evil bastard with him.

"I got a plan. I can make this work. Ye know I can. Remember the warehouse two weeks ago? I'm the one who got us outta there, I got it to work."

The man opposite him nodded.

"Yes. I do remember your plans. And that's exactly the reason why I need you here. Daryl told me about your new plan. The prison, the maps, the thing with the wall that's down. That's some good thinking. I want you to keep track of things and coordinate people while I'm gone."

The Irishman frowned.

"While yer gone?"

Rick nodded once more.

"I'm going on a run. We need more guns. Material. Anything we can gather."

"You don't want me ta come with you?"

The other man shook his head.

"No. I need you and Daryl in here. Keep an eye on Merle. And I need a couple of good shots walking the perimeter while me and Carl are gone."

The Irishman widened his eyes in surprise.

"Yer gonna take te kid?"

"I will. And Michonne."

Connor raised an eyebrow.

"You sure about this?"

Rick nodded.

"I am. I can't take Maggie, Glenn or you. You are injured. You need to rest. It's too dangerous out there. Carl is ready. And it's a good opportunity to test Michonne's loyalty. I don't trust Merle. Daryl is the only one having an influence on him. So yeah. I'm sure. First thing in the morning, me, Carl and Michonne are gonna make our way back to King County."

It wasn't hard to find Daryl in the small administration building. A bloody trail of dead walkers led straight up the stairs, and part of Connor was freaked out because there were more walkers in here than he had expected. It wasn't like he thought that Daryl couldn't take care of himself. Of course he could. His friend was practically a killing machine with his crossbow and knife. But it still freaked the Irishman out, because no matter how much better he was getting ever since he had lost Murphy, he still saw himself as the big brother, and it was his job to worry.

Connor made his way up the stairs and through a couple of filthy rooms, and once again there they were. Dead bodies. In every single room. He found Daryl in a larger office, where one of the walls was covered with all sorts of keys. There was the dead body of a man in a police uniform sitting on a chair in front of a computer, but the bloody wound on his forehead told the Irishman that he didn't really need to worry about him. He was more worried about his friend, who was grabbing all sorts of keys and made his way to the large barred window which was facing the parking lot.

The area downstairs was practically surrounded by walls on three sides, one of them being the one with the massive steel door that led back to their prison yard. He could see another fence opposite that one, but it was partly destroyed, looking like a car had run it over. Several walkers were roaming through the parking lot, between the cars, wearing both prison uniforms and normal clothes. Other walkers were walking up and down the road that led away from the prison, making their way away from the part of the complex that had obviously burned out and down a long time ago. Funny how just a bit of steel and bricks could keep a mess like that out. There was a LOT they needed to get to know about the prison and its layout.

"Having fun running off on yer own?" Connor muttered as he watched his friend walk up and down the room to check several of the remote control car keys.

Daryl looked at him for a moment and then got back to work.

"Having fun being used as bait and Rick's errand boy?" he asked instead of answering and Connor chuckled.

"You can talk. Yer just jealous cos he ain't asking you anymore now that the asshole you call yer brother's with us. Or is it about te fact that I'm sapposed to get rid of all the walkers again? Ain't she adorable when she starts babysitting me."

"Shut up" Daryl growled.

The blonde wouldn't say anything to that and just looked at the hunter with an amused smirk, and Daryl stared back at him for a while.

"I thought we made a deal back at the fire station. And you keep breaking it. Ever since we got here."

Connor stared back at him for a while and then headed for the keys to help his friend find a working car.

"Well, maybe it's time we fucked the deal. Let's be honest here. We should finally use the whole immunity thing against the walkers instead of not doing it just cos yer afraid of something that might never..."

"Well but it did happen!" Daryl interrupted him and pointed at his friends shoulder.

"Look at you! You got bit, you got probed, you killed someone, you see shit. Just cos you broke your promise and ran in there, just like you always run at every walker and every enemy you can find these days."

Connor snorted and gave his friend an angry frown.

"What te fuck are ye on about? They just asked me ta get one fucking car! Look, there ain't even that many walkers out there.
Don't think I can't estimate how things are gonna turn out when I do something. I'm not stupid."

"Yeah of course, if yah weren't stupid then you wouldn't do that shit with Merle all the time, man. Seriously. You need t'stop getting on his nerves all the time" Daryl growled and started searching for the keys again.

Connor raised an eyebrow.

"Fer real? Jesus, it's not really about te car, it's about me pretending ta kiss you in front of yer brother, isn't it? Calm yer beans, will ye. I was trying ta get a rise outta him, not you. It doesn't mean anything, you retard. Now stop being a pansy about it and get me a working key."

Daryl gritted his teeth and shook his head with an annoyed growl.

"Nah, fuck you" he muttered and kept searching.

It was quiet for a while, and Daryl was obviously brooding again. It took them a while to search the office, and after a moment the younger of the two couldn't stop thinking about this morning again. He still had not been able to talk about it with Connor, so maybe now was a better time than back at the cell before Andrea had arrived.

"Why'd you do it?" he asked and his friend listened up.

"What?"

"Why'd you burn the picture?"

Connor froze and just stared at the desk for a while, and Daryl turned around to look at his friend and waited for an answer.
The Irishman started working again and shrugged.

"Cos you told me ta do it" he muttered and his voice was lacking strength all of a sudden. Daryl leaned against the table and folded his arms.

"Well last time I asked yah to bury it you didn't do it. So what's changed?"

Connor let go of the stuff he had been searching and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a tired sigh. It took him a while to answer, but he eventually did it.

"Back when we got here...yesterday. When when got here, yesterday, I saw him by the fence. With the other walkers. He told me.."

He took a deep shaky breath and looked out of the window.

"He told me that I should stop fighting something. That some people are waiting. I didn't get it at first, but after that thing with the picture and yer brother...
You told me that I need ta stop it. And that you people need me. And then I finally got what Murphy wanted ta tell me. He asked me ta let him go and give him some peace...I guess ye were both right and I finally had the guts ta do it."

Daryl just looked at his friend and nodded. Connor kept looking out of the window and nodded as well.

"'t fucking hurts. Believe me, it fucking hurts. But you were right about it. Feels like this weight got lifted off my chest. And I really get it now.
You people need me fer this Woodbury shit. Especially now that our faithful leader is running off all te time."

The hunter frowned.

"Rick ain't going nowhere" he muttered and Connor snorted.

"Aye, must've imagined the talk I just had with him a couple of minutes ago then, where he told me he's gonna go back ta King County to get guns with his 12 year old and a woman he doesn't even know" the blonde muttered and got up to test another bunch of keys.

Daryl shook his head with a snort and did the same.

"Yeah, maybe this is you imagining shit again."

"Oh fuck you" Connor he said and grabbed one key, and this time one of the old and dusty police cars downstairs responded with flickering lights.

Both men looked out of the window and the Irishman grinned.

"Jackpot" he said and Daryl smirked.

"You want a medal, jackass?" he muttered and got up from the desk he had been sitting on, and just when he was about to head for the door the Irishman called after him.

"Daryl. Wait."

The hunter turned around and just looked at his friend, waiting for him to go on.

"We're a team, right?"

Daryl frowned.

"You really gotta ask?"

The blonde nodded and waited for an answer until it finally came.

"Of course, dumbass. Why?"

Connor sighed and leaned against the window.

"I got a plan. On the whole Woodbury thing."

It was obvious that the hunter didn't like talking about it just as much as Rick had not wanted to talk about it, but he still kept listening.

"You mean your map thing?"

The Irishman shook his head.

"No, not that one. An other one. The one I was talking about with Rick just a second ago. I want ta get back inside Woodbury and shoot the Governor dead. He's against it. So was Andrea when I talked to her. They think it's bullshit. I don't. I wanna do this. With you. And yer brother."

Daryl frowned and folded his arms.

"You? And Merle? You serious?"

Connor nodded and crossed his legs as he stared out of the window for a bit.

"Aye. Shocking, isn't it."

"What exactly do yah wanna do?" the younger of the two asked and stepped closer. Connor looked at him and and folded his arms as well.

"You know that me and yer brother don't exactly get along that well, but even I gotta admit he's a decent fighter and quite the strategist himself. He serves his purpose, that's fer sure. And he knows that town and that guy better than anyone, doesn't he? He's been with them fer months. He'd be our map, you'd be my watchdog. With ye around he can't pull any bullshit on me, we three make our way in there, kill the Governor, his right hand men, make Andrea take over te city and we all live happily ever after. It sounds simple, it is simple. Trust me, brother. Ye know my history better than anyone."

Daryl chewed on his lower lip for a while and they just looked each other in the eye.

"Last time we got in there it didn't end so well for us, did it?"

Connor snorted.

"It worked out just te way we wanted it ta work. You got stuck in there cos you wanted ta see yer brother, I got stuck in there ta get back ta you. I would've gotten outta there without a scratch if I'd just wanted to, and you would've been just as fine if you wanted to as well. But we both decided ta get screwed up in there, didn't we?"

Daryl looked at his friend a bit longer, then he rubbed his forehead with a tired sigh.

"I don't know, man."

"All ye gotta do is follow me and trust me. 's not te first time I'm doing this. I'm good at this. Really. You know I am. It's been my job.
God himself gave me te mission ta rid the world of evil. And he's been watching over me ever since I got it."

Daryl rolled his eyes when he heard about Connor's whole god business again, but he kept his mouth shut, now that it was obvious that it really mattered to his friend.
Connor swallowed and looked out of the window for a while. He grabbed his rosary and held on to it for a while until he finally spoke again.

"Murph always trusted me. And I got him through that fer almost ten years. I just screwed it up once. I learnt my lesson that day. It won't happen again.
I promise ye we're gonna be just fine."

"Give me some time to think about it" Daryl said after a while and Connor looked at him. It wasn't the answer he wanted, but at least it wasn't a no, like all the nos he had heard from the other people he had told about his idea to resolve this whole mess.

"Okay."

"Right" Daryl muttered and they kept looking at each other.

"Right" Connor repeated after him and it was quiet for a little while longer. Then the blonde smirked.

"Is this te part were ye run at me, throw yer arms around me and we make out?"

"Shut up" Daryl said with a snort and then chuckled, which made Connor laugh as well.

"Ye shoulda seen yer fucking face. Priceless" he giggled and made his way to the door, but not without receiving a decent (and painful) kick in his ass first.

"Fucking asshole" the hunter growled behind him and followed his friend outside the office.

The way downstairs was just as messy as the way up to the offices. There were walkers waiting for them, and there wasn't enough daylight coming through the windows which made the whole killing part even harder for them. Connor and Daryl stayed close to each other, and although the older of the two had insisted on going first the hunter had still won the argument and was now walking down the stairs in front of the Irishman. Connor was pissed because of that, especially because Daryl wouldn't stop mocking him the entire way down, calling him a sissy and cripple who wouldn't be able to kill the walkers anyway.

Part of the blonde considered shoving his friend down the stairs and towards the undead, but of course, that would be a bad thing to do and he didn't really want him to die. Maybe. But part of him was actually glad he didn't have to be the first to watch out for them just yet, simply because he was way too distracted by all the whispers around him, that he was still hearing the undead talk to him, begging him, reaching out for him. It was still so incredibly weird for the Irishman. It was like he was watching two films at once, one where his friend was murdering innocent people in front of him as they kept begging and begging while he just watched. Then there was the actual second film, the real one, the one where growling monsters were coming at them, ready to eat them, kill them, tear them apart.

There were maybe six walkers in the stairwell, and Connor found it particularly ridiculous how these things had been living right next door for a couple of weeks without them taking care of them. It was about time they got started on his other plan in the meantime, and that was taking full use of the prison, making it a deadly maze for intruders and a safe home for them. When they reached the door that led to the parking lot Daryl seemed to notice the look on his friend's face, because he stopped walking and looked at him for a moment.

"You alright?" he asked when he saw the way Connor was staring at the door, because now the Irishman could hear all the walkers outside.

Part of him imagined them coming closer and closer to the door, closing in on them, banging on the door, begging to be freed.

Why don't you listen to us? Help us. Let us out. Free us. We're so hungry.

The snapping of fingers in front of his eyes snapped him out of it.

"Earth to leprechaun."

Connor shook his head and blinked a couple of times, then grabbed his knife and nodded.

"Let's get out there and get te car. I got the keys."

Daryl stared at him with a worried look on his face.
He didn't want to say anything at first, but then his protective side eventually kicked in.

"You sure?"

Connor rolled his eyes.

"Yes I am, Ma. Now open te fucking door. We ain't got all day. Group's waiting."

Daryl snorted and shook his head angrily.

"Fine, whatever" he muttered and turned around to grab the handle to open the door.